Great Apps Youve Never Heard Of

December 12, 2011 9 AM
Rachel Rothman

Every week dozens of innovative new apps make their way into my email box and onto my mobile devices for review. As the New Year fast approaches, I thought it was a good time to share with you some of the smartest, most interesting ones I've come across. I've foregone coveted and well-known games (though I do appreciate Angry Birds, Words with Friends, and Fruit Ninja of course!) - and decided to share with you some of the less known but super useful apps.

SparkBase Pay Cloud, free This app was the first multi-terminal integrated mobile wallet for loyalty and gift card programs. The benefit of this is that you don't have to hold on to lots of cards and offers and bulk up your wallet or purse. While right now it's only available in test areas and the number of merchants is somewhat limited, nationwide rollout should grow quickly. iPhone and Android

Bump, free As the name implies, the simple gesture of gently "bumping" two phones together is all it takes to share photos, apps, messages, contact information, and more. Both phones do have to be Bump users. iPhone and Android

Meal Snap, $1 While I personally find it better for my mental health not to know how many calories are in my meal, this app is for those of you who just have to know! Snap a photo of your meal, and it tells you whats in the meal and gives a calorie estimate. iPhone

Fring, free This is a multi-network chat client that allows you to place calls over WiFi and 3G. And it lets you group chat with 4 friends at the same time. iPhone, Android, and Ovi (or m.fring.com)

Instapaper, $5 (or free with ads) This app is great when you come across a long article or post you really like, but don't have time to read immediately. It saves web pages as text only (removing the formatting and layouts) so you can enjoy distracted-free reading even when you're offline (good if you are going on a plane, subway, or in an area without WiFi). iPhone

WolframAlpha, free This knowledge database one-ups Google because it gives you direct answers to your questions. With its very intuitive, simple interface, it lets you ask questions across domains like finance, food, math, and medicine. iPhone and Android

Yahoo! IntoNow, free One of the latest TV companions, IntoNow from Yahoo!, lets you engage with your favorite television shows in a new, fun way. Turn on the app, and it identifies what show you're watching. In addition it offers up relevant data (like if you are watching CNN it would give you relevant articles) and links and lets you easily share on Facebook and Twitter. iPhone and Android

What are your favorite apps? Anyone have any good, hidden gems I should have on my smartphone?